The present invention relates, in general, to a manually operable, reversible ansate implement. More particularly, the present invention relates to a combined rake and shovel having a reversible scoop which may be selectively reversed with respect to a common elongate handle in order to allow a user thereof to either pull or push material with the concave facing surface of the scoop. In a particular embodiment, the reversible implement disclosed herein may be used to manually plow (or push) snow and, alternatively, rake leaves, soil or other similar materials.
Numerous gardening and material moving implements are commercially available and all are generally designed with but a single intended purpose or application. As a consequence, each is manufactured to be configured in only one specific, predetermined form and is uniquely adapted to a specific task. Because of the unique application of each implement, users must then purchase a specialized tool for each specific task resulting, for example, in a plethora of various types of shovels and rakes with a concomitant increase in expense in their acquisition and storage requirements. Moreover, not only does the manufacturer of these various implements require specific tooling for the production of each, adding to the manufacturing and retail costs for each item, such application specific implements are not readily amenable to packaging and shipping in quantity, even when boxed in an unassembled state.
It would therefore be highly desirable to provide a single, multipurpose implement which can be readily configured by a user to function as more than one type of household implement, for example, a snow removal shovel and leaf, vegetation or soil rake depending upon the requirements of the task at hand. Such a multipurpose implement would necessitate the purchase and storage of less items. Advantageously, the implement would also be easily configurable utilizing a single reversible scoop which may be selectively affixed to a single elongate handle while simultaneously requiring a minimum of tooling for manufacture of its constituent elements and resulting in a unit that may be economically manufactured and stacked for packaging and shipment in an unassembled condition.